VakifBank Management Summit

Company: VakifBank, Istanbul, TurkeyCompany Description: VakifBank has incorporated under a special charter act (Law No. 6219) dated 11 th January 1954 and commenced its operations on the 13th of April 1954 with a capital of TL 50 million. Ever since its inception, VakifBank has been contributing to Turkey’s increasing savings rate with modern banking practices and applications.Nomination Category: Live Event CategoriesNomination Sub Category: Best Internal Recognition/Motivational Event

Nomination Title: VakifBank Management Summit - “Feel Your Strength”

The date on which this nominated production was first presented: November 24, 25 & 26th, 2017

Describe the nominated event's communications objectives and how it met those objectives, including the event's genesis, development, performance, and results to date (up to 525 words):

When VakifBank, one of thethree Turkish public banks, initiated a restructuring phase in mid-2017, a brand new brief was given for the summit which was being held in a conventional way every year.

The brief was to ensure that 1200 managers perceived, internalized and adopted the transformation which was being realized by ’’The Strength By Your Side’’motto, so they could communicate the message to their team with the same power. And so, “Feel Your Strength” concept was born and the summit was designed around it.

Firstly, an application was created for the summit. Themanagers chose the meetings and activities they want to partake via this application. Besides displaying transformation, this created an attention for the summit in advance, which used to be perceived as “monotonous” and “obligation”.

From the moment the managers from 81 cities stepped in, the branding that were done in the designated hotel for the three day summit made them feel that they are part of a powerful company.

A series of activities were planned prior to meetings, in which the future strategies and 5-year plans were to be conveyed. Energetic activities, that the managers haven’t experienced before and would emphasize change, transformation and dynamism, such as archery and paintball, were some of them, along with creative options like chocolate and terrarium workshops and VR.

Unlike former summits where managers took to the stage one by one and had no interactions, new strategy and goals were explained under an anchor’s moderation, with plenty of interaction in a Q&A panel. Thus the attention of the participants was not lost and the strategy was easily understood.

VakifBank management were not the only ones to take to the stage. Economics Professor Özgür Demirtas made a futuristic presentation on inevitability of transformation and artificial intelligence.

In the last part of the meeting, Engin Altan Düzyatan, leading actor of the No.1 TV series in Turkey and the face of the VakifBank’s transformation campaign, took to the stage with Mehmet Emin Özcan, General Manager of VakifBank and presented the ad to managers’ liking for the first time, before it was released to media.

99% of participants who evaluated the summit, considered the summit as very good (72%) and good (27%).
98% of managers found the meeting concept and content, which was introduced for the first time, very good (70%) and good (28%).
93% of the participants, express the activities and experiences were very good (53%) and good (40%).
92% of participating managers, expressed they found the schedule of meetings as very good (50%) and good (42%).

The success of the summit reflected credit in business too. VakifBank recorded a 17% growthin the2018 Q1 compared to previous year and became fastest growing public bank. Moreover, the brand rose to No.13 from No.15 in the most valuable brands list.

Besides the numeric data, the summit, which used to be a monotonous event where managers read their objectives and plans one by one during the day and got together in gala dinner in the evening, turned into an experiential event the managers talk about and wanted to know “when will the next one happen”.